1 Bloor East, DEAD AND BURIED (Bazis, -2s, Varacalli)

[p5archit]

1 Bloor St. W

Its funny how all of those towers seem out of place there- well, maybe not the one which was built in Melbourne or was it Sydney?-that one fits surprisingly well.

p5

 

[umademethisway]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

No, you're wrong buildup The second rendering is the one that was received very well by the majority of us on this board when it was unveiled. It was a handful of people who didn't warm up to it.

 

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

Thanks for the legwork, Wylie. A great comparison.

All of the above, except the Aussie one, would look better there.

The NY Times building looks a lot like what we thought Four Seasons was going to look like, until the later renderings let us down...

 

[ummagumma66]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

it looks pretty nice, it should be a great addition to Toronto's already very impressive skyline.

 

[isaidsoTNR]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

Archivistower: I'm not disputing New York's influence in the world. I suppose I'll never get used to living in a city that is more comfortable in the subordinate role, rather than leader/cultural benchmark. Cringing in reaction to names like New York Towers is an instinctual reflex that is unavoidable for many people besides myself.

I am not disputing that many places around the world pay hommage to New York also, but does Toronto really need to be one of those places? Toronto has come into its own, and its time we left behind such practices. Toronto has moved beyond that, and we do ourselves a disservice by accepting that pecking order.

That traditional meek, timid, painfully Canadian modesty where we strive for finishing 5th is gone. The generation growing up now want to be #1. Surely that is not a bad thing?

 

[yinyang41]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

toronto is definitly not fit for crazy designs, that's for sure...none of those seem to fit in to my eyes, except the hearst.

 

[SD2]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

Archivistower: I'm not disputing New York's influence in the world. I suppose I'll never get used to living in a city that is more comfortable in the subordinate role, rather than leader/cultural benchmark. Cringing in reaction to names like New York Towers is an instinctual reflex that is unavoidable for many people besides myself.

I am not disputing that many places around the world pay hommage to New York also, but does Toronto really need to be one of those places? Toronto has come into its own, and its time we left behind such practices. Toronto has moved beyond that, and we do ourselves a disservice by accepting that pecking order.

That traditional meek, timid, painfully Canadian modesty where we strive for finishing 5th is gone. The generation growing up now want to be #1. Surely that is not a bad thing?

I think you're having a major overreaction. No one said we're trying to be like New York or that we're below them. Ganjavih simply said:

"Cool pics, wylie. Starting to look kinda New Yawkish."

It's an innocent statement you're blowing way out of proportion.

 

[cdl42]

Re: 1 Bloor St. W

Plus I think marketers would have a tough time finding a way to name every building in this city after Toronto.

For that matter we have a condo named "Malibu". Does that mean that Toronto is aspiring to one day be above Malibu? Or is it simply (again) a marketing job and nothing more?

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I'd bet actual money that the "New Yawk" comment was referring to the density of skyscrapers that'd result when an area already filled with 30 storey towers gets a few 50+ storey towers.

 

[caltrane74]

New York is one of the world's most amazing cities. If you are going to imitate..why not copy the best.

personally ..i really really love manhatten..its a very cool place with so many hot new yawk broads..i could live there in an instant if I could find 2 million dollars to buy a closet there.

Dont take it so personally. (Toronto will never be confused with New York)

Quick Edit.. yes I can see the whole new York thing now..we have a serious midtown happening at Yonge and Bloor. ie:

1 Bloor East
Four Seasons
Uptown
C-Blue
St. Thomas
18 Yorkville
Casa
X

and those are just off the top of my head.....5th avenue watch out!!!

 

[Mystery Man TO]

I think the Gherkin would work better at the SW corner of Bloor and Church ... plus it would make a good vista from "boystown"

 

[DaninToronto2]

A comparrison of buildings with similar number of floors

Aqua Chicago - 823 ft. 82 floors

-----------------------​

Floor to floor height = 10.04 ft.

Park Michigan - 866 ft. 80 floors

Floor to floor height = 10.83 ft.

1 Bloor East - 731 ft. 80 floors

Floor to floor height = 9.14 ft.

 

[isaidsoTNR]

SD2: yes, his comment was innocent. I apologize if he/she took that as a personal attack, but this observation isn't quite as trivial as you would assert. These practices are indicative of the mindset in Toronto and speaks volumes about attitudes that moderate and curtail this city's advancement.

Too often do I hear: 'yeah, but that's New York, we can't have that here'
That's the mindset of a city that doesn't think it can compete as a rival, but a scaled down version of some where else.

Spend some time in London or Dubai. Those cities aren't built by a populace that accepts subordinate status. You may think this is over blown, but attitude and ambition are crucial. You may argue that these are just innocent remarks. Sure, but they explain alot about what keeps this city from acheiving even more than it is.

 

[SD2]

SD2: yes, his comment was innocent. I apologize if he/she took that as a personal attack, but this observation isn't quite as trivial as you would assert. These practices are indicative of the mindset in Toronto and speaks volumes about attitudes that moderate and curtail this city's advancement.

Again, you're blowing it way out of proportion. He was simply making a comparison. His comment doesn't say anything about the attitudes in this city.

It's like me commenting a project resembles a project I saw in another city. Does that mean I'm reflecting the attitudes that curtail this city's advancement? No. I'm just making a comparison.

Too often do I hear: 'yeah, but that's New York, we can't have that here'
That's the mindset of a city that doesn't think it can compete as a rival, but a scaled down version of some where else.

That isn't even remotely close to what he said.

Spend some time in London or Dubai. Those cities aren't built by a populace that accepts subordinate status. You may think this is over blown, but attitude and ambition are crucial. You may argue that these are just innocent remarks. Sure, but they explain alot about what keeps this city from acheiving even more than it is.

I don't think they reflect anything. I think rambling on about an innocent New York comment is what truly reflects some sort of insecurity. He said it the future renderings resemble New York - that could be the density, the massing...it could mean many things, none of which reflect any insecurity.

It's kind of ridiculous that any mention of New York means the person making the comment is reflecting some city-wide acceptance of "subordinate status".

If you've been here for any amount of time it should be pretty obvious this is actually quite an ambitious city.

 

[Archivistower]

I don't think anyone made a reference to subordinate status. We're talking about condo building names, here. And my contention is that condo names do not say anything significant about a city's status or view of itself.

By the way, I believe that Dubai does accept a subordinate status, for the thousands of workers who actually build their city and have no rights, turn over their passports to their employers, and live in tent cities on the outskirts. Dubai is a laughable example of a confident city. By the way, Dubai has a Chelsea Tower, not a very Arabic sounding name, to be certain.